Articles for October 13, 2008
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a
weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University
Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy
Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field.
To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the
publication of a new issue, go to Energy Newsbriefs archives at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Please be aware that
although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy
Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to change. Further, servers
sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.
CORRECTION:
The last issue of Energy
Newsbriefs included one item listed under an incorrect heading and
attributed to the wrong U.S. Department of Energy program. Thank you to the
reader who called it to our attention. Here's the same item corrected:
HOSPITALS
"EnergySmart Hospitals"
is a two-page, July 2008, fact sheet from the Buildings Technologies Program of
the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE). It familiarizes the reader with the DOE EnergySmart Hospitals
initiative, the aim of which is to assist a sector with understandably high
energy needs to reduce energy use without compromising patient care. See this
publication at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energysmarthospitals/pdfs/esh_factsheet.pdf.
GREEN CITIES
"Portland, Ore., Tops Sustainable Cities List," by Eoin O'Carroll, explains which organization
did the ranking, based on what criteria, and also links to the ranking done for
2006.
Here are the 2007 rankings:
1) Portland, Ore.
2) San Francisco
3) Seattle
4) Chicago
5) New York
6) Boston
7) Minneapolis
8) Philadelphia
9) Oakland, Calif.
10) Baltimore
See the entire article in
the
Christian Science Monitor, September 22, 2008, at
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/09/22/portland-ore-tops-sustainable-cities-list/.
INCENTIVES
Northwest
Energy Star is a web page which provides a user-friendly way for residential
customers to easily find what rebates
and/or incentives their own utilities have to offer. Users can enter their
utility's name in one field and then either select a single appliance/item from
a list or use the "Select All" option to see a readable table with
all the options available. See the web page at
http://www.northwestenergystar.com/index.php?cID=183
INDUSTRIAL
"DOE
Identifies Energy Savings for Maine Paper Mill," by staff, briefly reports
on the successful energy assessment of the Katahdin Paper Mill and includes
links to important sources of free information for the industrial plant manager
interested in reducing energy costs. See it in the
ITP E-Bulletin,
September 2008;
scroll down to the article title at
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/industry/resources/ebulletin/#headlines.
LABORATORIES
Laboratories in the 21st Century: Best Practice Guide
Commissioning Ventilated Containment Systems in the Laboratory is an
eight-page, August 2008 guide published by NREL (the National Renewable Energy
Lab) with the support of DOE (the U.S. Department of Energy) and the EPA (the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). The guide describes best practices for
the design and construction of sustainable labs. See the entire guide at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43231.pdf.
LEED (LEADERSHIP IN
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN)
"Lies, Damn Lies,
and... (Another Look at LEED Energy Efficiency)," by Nadav Malin, is a
thoughtful response to Henry Gifford's paper, "A Better Way to Rate Green
Buildings," which takes issue with some of the ways in which LEED measures
efficiency and sustainability. Of likely interest to energy professionals in
the buildings sector, this response includes a link to the Gifford article and
other related information. See this article in
BuildingGreen, September
2, 2008, at
http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2008/9/2/Lies-Damn-Lies-and-Are-LEED-Buildings-iLessi-Efficient-Than-Regular-Buildings.
LIGHTING
The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
(IESNA) recently adopted LM-80-2008, "Approved Method for Measuring Lumen
Depreciation of LED Light Sources." As
a result, the Energy Star Solid-State
Lighting program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is now able to qualify LEDs
(light emitting diodes) as Energy Star products. DOE has made available the
20-page, September 8, 2008, document, "Manufacturer's Guide for Qualifying
Solid-State Lighting Luminaires" at
http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/PDFs/ENERGYSTAR_Manufacturers_Guide_30Sept08.pdf.
POLICY
"Alliance to Save Energy Releases First of 12 'Policy Briefs' Describing State-Level Energy
Efficiency Policies, Lessons" is a September 23, 2008, press release from
the Alliance to Save Energy describing the overall effort to bring energy
efficiency information and analysis to state policy makers. See this press
release at
http://ase.org/content/news/detail/5070.
The press release also links to the first policy brief, "Funding
Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency," and the accompanying "Sample
Legislation for State Energy Efficiency Policies."
"Berkeley Moves Ahead
with Solar-Financing Program," is an article, by staff, on the recent move
by the city council of Berkeley, California, to plan to offer loans to
residents who purchase solar rooftop installations for their homes. See it in
the
San Francisco Chronicle, September 17, 2008, at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/17/state/n135213D55.DTL&feed=rss.business.
"Green Pricing and Net Metering
Programs 2006 Edition" is a document, published July 2008 with data from 2002
through 2006, from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) of the U.S. Department
of Energy. It includes an explanation of some of the trends which are
indicated by the data. See the document at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/greenprice/green_pricing.html.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
"Renewable Energy
Trends in Consumption and Electricity, 2006" is a document published July
2008 with data from 1989 through 2006 from the EIA (Energy Information Agency) of
the U.S. Department of Energy. It looks at trends in wind, solar thermal, wave
and tidal, and biodiesel. See this document at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/trends/rentrends.html.
SOLAR
"New Solar Cell Easy as
Pizza to Make" is an October 4, 2008, National Public Radio broadcast
(just under three minutes) of an interview with the Australian inventor of the
new low-heated silicon cell which may have application opportunities in
developing countries. To listen to the broadcast go to
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95394225.
UTILITIES
Effective October 1, 2008,
the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) credit and reimbursement rates for
certain energy efficiencies were increased. A September 8, 2008 press release
from the BPA describes the efficiencies covered in each of the following
sectors: residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. See the press
release at
http://www.bpa.gov/Energy/N/projects/post2006conservation/pdf/FY_09_EE_program_announcement_summary_FINAL.pdf.
Past issues of Energy
Newsbriefs are available at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.
Generally, subscription information
for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web
sites.
© 2008
Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication
contains material written and produced for public distribution. Permission to
copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted, provided that the
copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, and that each is
referenced by title with credit to the Washington State University Extension
Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise,
for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State
University Extension Energy Program.
